Helping Baby Boomers to continue to earn income, as long as they want

12/31/2015

The Debt Game Our Mothers Never Taught Us

From the get-go, our mothers warned us Baby Boomers against debt. That's the financial wisdom they assumed would give us the edge.

After all, our mothers went from the fun of the Gilded Age to the drudgery of The Great Depression. It wasn't until I was a ghostwriter/speechwriter at Chrysler that I learned that borrowing big money was how the big boys did it. Lee Iacocca saved the auto company by talking the U.S. government into providing loan guarantees. Because that worked, we all made a bundle.

Before that, I would only borrow small amounts. When I was 11, I talked my uncle into lending me what it took for me to buy into a franchise. I knew enough not to approach Mom. My little enterprise did well.

However, had I been socialized to think big when it came to borrowing I would have not worked every summer to put myself through college and not take loans. I would have taken advantage of low-cost loans to study abroad. That would have enhanced my resume, network, and confidence. Likely I could have landed a job in Europe. Instead I took the road more traveled and went to graduate school for a degree which turned out to be unmarketable. Duh.

Since Chrysler, I play the debt game regularly. That's exactly how I rebranded my own business into a service that's been in demand. And, that's why I published an article in MyBankTracker on why debt is good. Here you can read it. Pass copies on to other Baby Boomers whose mothers hammered the supposed perils of debt.